


Someone to Say Something Hopeful

by bethecrayon



Series: Communication-verse [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Communication, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethecrayon/pseuds/bethecrayon
Summary: It’s not new, Will knowing Derek’s attractive. Referring to him as Derek and willing himself not to pick fights are certainly developments, but he’s always been infuriatingly attractive. It wasn’t just the messy curls or flawless wardrobe, either. Derek Nurse is smart. Quick-witted and funny, passionate and stubborn; frankly, Will’s type. Being rivals with him hadn’t made that go away, and being friends only made it more obvious.The thing is, though, where they’re at now is really good. It’s communicating when things upset them rather than picking fights. It’s being able to spend time together silently doing their own thing. It’s a familiar face at the end of shitty days with an offer to listen and pie saved in the back of the fridge. It’s something Will wouldn’t give up for the world at this point, so he isn’t really willing to push on the “Derek Nurse is attractive as hell and I would like him to makeout with me until I die” issue.--Will and Derek finally learn to communicate and have some interesting talks.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Series: Communication-verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668733
Comments: 9
Kudos: 264





	Someone to Say Something Hopeful

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, this was mostly written because I Crave That Content, but I figure it has broad enough appeal to post. The title is from Downhill by Lincoln because I don't understand titles and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.

Winter at Samwell starts in bursts. Technically this is the fourth time it’s snowed this season, but none of it has managed to stick around for more than a few days. Yesterday had been in the 50’s, but with finals starting soon the weather saw it fitting to top Monday off with a cold snap and a new round of snow.

“I can’t tell if it’s actually snowing or if the wind just keeps picking up what’s already there.”

“Does it matter which it is?”

Of course, it matters. It matters if there will be more snow piled up later. It matters where the weather system is going. It matters because he needs to know if he should bring an umbrella later and if he has on enough layers. But then a snowflake catches on Derek’s eyelashes, Derek blinks stupidly, and Will responds, “I guess not.”

Will refuses to pick a fight today. It isn’t like everything is fine now that he moved into the basement, but things have been… better. Space has helped. Actually kind of missing each other’s company has probably helped more. Not that he or Derek would admit to that again any time soon; once while spectacularly drunk and disgracing the game of Mario Kart was more than enough. So they’re back to hanging out, and Will has decided that fighting is firmly off the table. Fun bickering works, but fighting feels dumb when it doesn’t even make him feel better anymore.

“Yo, zoning out is kinda my deal. Respect the brand, Dex.”

Will realizes that he’s been caught up in his head for a good few minutes now as they walk into the dining hall. “Mad about my perfect impression of you, Nurse?”

“Chyeah, man. How am I supposed to keep that hipster reputation you love so much if I’ve got everyone copying my deal?”

Despite the eyeroll, Will is definitely smiling. “Whatever you say, bro. Let’s go get some tater tots.”

* * *

It’s not new, Will knowing Derek’s attractive. Referring to him as Derek and willing himself not to pick fights are certainly developments, but he’s always been infuriatingly attractive. It wasn’t just the messy curls or flawless wardrobe, either. Derek Nurse is smart. Quick-witted and funny, passionate and stubborn; frankly, Will’s type. Being rivals with him hadn’t made that go away, and being friends only made it more obvious.

The thing is, though, where they’re at now is really good. It’s communicating when things upset them rather than picking fights. It’s being able to spend time together silently doing their own thing. It’s a familiar face at the end of shitty days with an offer to listen and pie saved in the back of the fridge. It’s something Will wouldn’t give up for the world at this point, so he isn’t really willing to push on the “Derek Nurse is attractive as hell and I would like him to makeout with me until I die” issue. If not pushing the envelope is what it takes to get these quiet moments studying together in the library, that’s more than a fair trade off as far as Will’s concerned. Not that it stops a little bit of self-indulgent thought and staring every once in a while, but it’s fine as long as he doesn’t make a big deal out of it or say anything stupid. It’s just—

“Do I have something on my face?”

Will resists the urge to jump, but just barely.

“Like, you’re just kind of staring at me so...?” Derek lets his sentence trail instead of finishing his thought.

“Nah, you’re fine, just kind of zoned out there.” It’s a perfectly serviceable excuse. Finals for the fall semester are right around the corner and, even though the season’s going well, all the boys are more than a little tired. Chowder got so lost in code two days ago the tadpoles had called an intervention after seeing his goalie face off ice. Will expects Derek to accept his excuse and go back to reading. Will should be more used to Derek defying expectations.

“Are you okay, dude?” Derek asks, closing his laptop. “You’ve been kinda zoning out more and, like, I don’t want to call you out or make you talk about it or anything, but I feel like I should say I’m up for listening if that’s what you need? Got your back or whatever, yah know?”

“Or whatever? Real poetic, Nurse.”

“Hey, I’m trying to be serious here for a sec. I’m... I just wanted to check in, I guess?” For the most part, Derek looks perfectly calm. One could even say chill, though Will is loathe to admit it. It’s the worried tone to his voice that betrays his real level of concern.

“Are you really that worried about me?” It’s the wrong thing to say and Will knows it as soon as the words leave his mouth. Derek clams up immediately, and things feel a lot tenser in a way that can’t be explained by exams.

“Chill, nevermind, we don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, like, I’m not... Ugh.” Will leans back in his chair and takes a breath. Words aren’t his strong suit, but it’s worth it this time. “That wasn’t a chirp. I just... I guess I just didn’t realize I was that bad? And I appreciate you being worried about me. Like I’m fine, but it’s nice you’re looking out. Thanks, man. I’m good, but I’ll let you know if anything changes. I can try to zone out less if it’s really got you worried.”

Derek looks unconvinced but much less defensive at that admission. “Nah, as long as you’re good...”

“I am, I promise. Nothing bad going on. Well, besides this problem set, but that’s just what life with Systems Programming is.” Derek snorts and seems to let the joke diffuse the tension. Will settles back into actually getting some work done, equal parts unreasonably pleased and incredibly nervous that Derek noticed he was being weird.

He assumes the exchange in Founders is a one off deal, but Derek sticks close by all through study week and into finals proper. At least once a day he asks Will if he wants to take a break. Twice Derek insists they go to Annie’s for coffee, and he gets away with paying for them both the second time. 

The morning of his first exam, Will finds a muffin saved in a plastic baggie with his name on it on the kitchen counter. That evening he makes a point of swinging by their old room, knocking on the doorframe to announce his presence even though the door is open.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Will almost hates interrupting the scene laid out in front of him, the warm lamp light and cozy lounge Derek’s set himself up with on the bottom bunk, but he has to know. Derek puts down his book, curls his legs up from where he’s sprawled out on the bottom bunk, and motions for Will to sit. “So, uh... Are you keeping an eye on me still? Because, not that I don’t appreciate it, I do, but I really am okay, dude.”

Derek sighs. “Yeah, I mean, I guess? I didn’t mean to ignore what you said or anything. I just figured you could probably use the breaks and stuff? It seemed like a fair idea.”

“Oh. That’s really nice of you, man.”

“Heh, yeah, well, got your back. Like I said.” It seems genuine enough, but Derek’s avoiding making any eye contact. It seems like as good a reason as any for Will to make a strategic retreat.

“Well, uh, I guess that’s all I wanted to ask. I’m gonna—”

“Actually,” he says, loosely reaching out for Will before he can leave, “can I ask you something, Dex?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah. What’s up?”

When Derek doesn’t immediately say anything, Will gets a little worried. He doesn’t want to rush it, but there’s just an air of seriousness that’s settled into the conversation that he wasn’t expecting. He forces himself to keep his facial expression open and patient until Derek ready.

When he looks up, Derek seems nervous but determined. His facial expression says he’s sure he wants to start this, but the words all come out in a rush. “We’ve been better, right? Like, the start of the semester wasn’t great, and I’m fully willing to admit that, but the last few weeks have been nice, I think. And I feel like we’re doing the whole friendship thing pretty well, right? But I guess I just wanted to check that you’re, like, on the same page with me there. That we’re definitely back to being friends.”

It wasn’t the question Will thought he was going to answer, but it’s an answer he’s sure of as soon as he’s asked. “Yeah, I think we’ve been good. You and C are two of the best people I know, and are definitely my best friends at Samwell. And, uh,” Will sighs. This part is probably long overdue, but better late than never. “Listen. I was an ass. I let my own shit get in the way of me being a good friend, I had no patience when you broke your wrist, and I lashed out at you instead of dealing with my problems. I think rooming separately isn’t the worst thing for us just because we have really different habits sometimes, but I am sorry about how it happened. You didn’t deserve that.”

The silence that follows is short but heavy. Will doesn’t quite know what to make of the expression on Derek’s face, but he considers it a win that his body language isn’t totally closed off at this point. “Wow, uh, thank you. I wasn’t really expecting an apology.”

“I definitely owed you one, though.”

“I mean, yeah, but I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have been that petty about everything when we were sharing the room, and I shouldn’t have been trying to push your buttons like that. The whole dibs flip deal kind of hurt my feelings, I’m not gonna lie, but that’s not really an excuse for me to be an ass instead of talking to you. I should’ve known better when it stopped being fun arguments and became real fighting again, to be completely honest. So thank you, I appreciate the apology. I’m sorry too, and I’m glad we’re talking about things now.” It’s definitely not what Will was expecting from this conversation, but it feels good to clear the air.

“Bro... Uh, thank you. And um... Same page now? Definitely friends, definitely ending the semester better, definitely willing to put our days of being dicks behind us?”

Derek smiles, real and bright, and it’s kind of the best thing to happen to Will all month. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

The first message comes in on Snapchat on December 23rd. Derek made sure Will had it downloaded before he left, so it’s not entirely unexpected. Will is fascinated to see before opening it that it’s to him directly and not the group chat.

Objectively the camera angle is terrible, but Derek’s still smirking like it’s his best look yet. The caption says “We’re starting a snap streak yes or yes?”

Will snaps a blurry photo of the skyline out his window and sends it back with the caption: “well since I have so many options.”

He’s not surprised when it’s opened and he has a text chat as a reply a minute later.

>   
>  _Dude. Dex. Dexalicious. My D-Man who’s the man._  
>  _I am. Just SO bored_
> 
>   
>  _I might have guessed you were if I’m getting shitty selfies lol._  
>  _I thought you were going to do some writing over break? How’s that going?_
> 
> _It’s not. I ran out of words like 3 days ago_  
>  _And my selfies are delightful fuck off_
> 
>   
>  _Break started five days ago._
> 
> _Thanks, Captain Obvious, I know how time works._  
>  _It’s chill, I just don’t really know what direction I want to take all of this_  
>  _And there’s no one here for me to bother_  
>  _So long distance bothering is happening_
> 
>   
>  _Wait, what about your moms?_  
>  _I don’t think it’d be actually “bothering” them. But you could go talk to them right?_
> 
> _Nah, they’re staying in London through the New Year. Got caught up with some stuff and won’t be back til I get back to Samwell._
> 
> _Oh damn, that sucks._
> 
>   
>  _It’s chill. I got you to bother for now. Might go back to the Haus early and just chill there_

It’s not that Will needs to go babysit; he fully trusts Derek to take care of himself. But still, if he’s looking for someone to bother, Will could be there. Maine feels weird this year, like it’s the wrong sized shirt. It fits, but it’s not as comfortable as it used to be. And if Will’s being honest with himself (which he isn’t because he refuses to be) he definitely misses Derek a little. Or a lot. It’s fine.

There’s no way his mom will let him skip Christmas, but maybe if he asks nicely about New Year’s...

> _Okay. See you at the Haus, Dec 27th._
> 
> _Wait what???_
> 
>   
>  _You said you were thinking about going back early right?_  
>  _Well as your D-Man and better half I have decided to let you turn long distance bothering into normal distance bothering._
> 
> _I never said better half._  
>  _But if you’re serious I might be persuaded to say it this one time_

Will laughs at that. He types out a quick, “Yeah, man, see you there,” before excusing himself to go play Santa’s elf by putting together all the assembly required toys for his cousins.

* * *

Will doesn’t regret coming back early so much as he regrets his lack of self-preservation. On some level he had to have been aware that this would mean being in the Haus alone with Derek, but the full reality of spending a week with him like some kind of knock off romantic getaway doesn’t dawn on Will until a few days in. During the semester Will could use whatever assignments or studying he had to do as an excuse for taking a break from the full force of Derek Nurse’s charm. 

Now, though, Derek seems ready to take full advantage of the fact that Will admitted he came back early so Derek could bother him. Late evenings with whatever Netflix masterpiece Derek insists Will watch, hanging out on kitchen counters while Will makes lunch, casual arms around shoulders and sharing blankets for no real discernable reason. It’s been wonderful, but also a lot for Will’s heart. Which is probably why he’s declared some wild excursion to the Murder Stop-n-Shop or a desire to walk around the quad in the cold a handful of times since being back.

Will’s pondering this on the bottom bunk of Derek’s bed, waiting for him to come back for the New Years Eve Netflix binge they’ve started. Instead of coming in to press play, though, Derek starts talking as soon as he enters the room.

“Dex. Dexalicious. D-man of my heart. Bro. I think,” he pauses dramatically to drop onto the bed and throw his legs into Will’s lap, “we should play 20 questions today.”

Will blinks a couple times, trying to puzzle out what brought this on. “Are you really going that stir crazy, dude?”

“That’s one for you. And no, I just think it would be good for our drift-compatible, definitely-stronger-than-Rans-and-Holster bond we’re working on here. So, any fun fears?”

“I don’t remember saying yes to this game. But those glass elevators where you can see everything? Hate those.”

“Okay, see, you say you never said yes to this, but you’re humoring me anyway. And I appreciate that about you.”

They run through topics at random, curling together more comfortably as they go over why Derek likes hockey (he fell in love with skating when he was young), Will’s favorite dessert (molasses drop cookies, all due respect to Bitty), what they think they’ll miss most about Samwell (C, hockey, and Annie’s, in that order). Surprisingly, they make it through 19 pairs of questions without any arguments. Even the answers that have been unexpected somehow match up with the rest of the pieces they’ve put together about each other, and Will has to admit it’s kind of fun to learn more about his D-man. Still, Will isn’t sure what Derek’s playing at here, and it’s kind of grating on him at this point.

“Why did you wanna play 20 questions? Like for real.”

Derek shrugs, but it’s definitely fake chill. “I guess I wanted to ask you my last question, but I felt like it needed some lead up? Or at least some time for me to convince myself I’m up for asking.”

Will manages a quick laugh, but it still sounds kind of nervous to his ears. “That sounds a lot more serious than asking what bones I’ve broken.”

“Yeah, well...” Derek smiles slightly despite himself, sits up from where they’ve slumped together, and takes a breath. “Why’d you come back from break early?”

“You said you needed someone to bother, right?” Will doesn’t skip a beat responding, but the way his cheeks pink up probably gives something away.

“Okay, but we were already texting, right? But you wanted to come be here in person even though you’ve been kinda weird—not weird bad, just weird—around me lately. And I guess I just want to know why, yah know?”

“I... I’m not being weird, you’re weird—”

“Dude, first you spend months zoning out, and I know it’s not exams because those are over now and you’re still doing it when we hang out. You cut your vacation short to come hang out with me at the Haus because I didn’t want to spend New Years’ alone, but you’ll abruptly run out of a room while I’m there.” Derek takes a breath and seems to force himself to meet Will’s eyes. “ We’re friends now, best friends, you said so yourself. So what the fuck is up, Dex?” 

There’s a level of vulnerability to the question that catches Will off guard. Derek’s being genuine with his concern here, and Will could no more deny him an answer than the Earth could deny going around the sun. It’s time to put his cards on the table. “It’s cool, it’s fine, I just kind of want to kiss you sometimes but we very much do not have to talk about it. To quote you, it’s chill.” Will swallows, trying very hard not to freak out. “And I’m getting over it, so no worries there.”

“How often is sometimes?”

“Derek...” It’s not the name he meant to let slip out, but Derek’s expression at the use of his first name is probably the least chill Will has seen him in months.

“No, like,” Derek sighs. “If sometimes is closer to most of the time and this isn’t just about, like, being curious in general or something, I feel like we should probably talk about this. I want to talk about this.”

“Okay first of all you’re like 6 years too late to the bi awakening, but I appreciate your concerns there. Second, it’s a you-specific thing, as infuriating as that is sometimes, and it’s pretty fucking constant.” Will runs his hands through his hair and looks up at the slats of the top bunk.

“So. In the event that this pretty constant kind of infuriating thing was mutual, is that something you’d maybe consider wanting to do something about?”

And that doesn’t quite fit in with Will’s mental calculus. Because that sounds like Derek Nurse is interested in him. That idea is objectively ridiculous, but it’s not like Will hasn’t already embarrassed himself today. “Uh, you’re... You’d wanna give this a shot?”

Derek slips his hand into Will’s, drawing his attention from the top bunk. “I’m pretty sure that’s what I just said. But yeah, to fully get on the same page here- I want us to give this a shot. Us dating, like exclusively.”

“Yeah,” Will says, matching Derek’s smile. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well this was something. I haven't written fanfic in literal years, but it's nice to be back. 
> 
> Edit: I did end up making it a series, because this is the timeline where everyone learns to communicate, damn it.


End file.
